Vidéotron

Vidéotron General Partnership is a Canadian integrated telecommunications company active in cable television, interactive multimedia development, video on demand, cable telephony, wireless communication and Internet access services. Owned by Quebecor, the company primarily serves Quebec, as well as the francophone communities of New Brunswick and some parts of Eastern Ontario.

History

Vidéotron was established in 1964, under the name "Télécâble Vidéotron Ltée" as northern Montreal's first cable television network. Their initial subscriber base was 66. André Chagnon served as the company's founding president. From 1966 to 1969, the company acquired and upgraded their network to fill all of Quebec. By 1980, Vidéotron acquired Câblevision Nationale to become the largest teledistributor in Quebec. Vidéotron acquired Télé-Métropole in 1986, the largest private French-language television company in North America. By 1990, Vidéotron launched Vidéoway terminals in Quebec, the first system of interactive television in North America. Five years later, the company entered the Internet era and acquired their own Internet portal, InfiniT.com. CF Cable, which operated primarily on the western end of the Island of Montreal, southern Laval and Northern Ontario, was acquired by Vidéotron in 1997, further expanding their base. The Northern Ontario division, subsequently, was sold to Regional Cablesystems. The company launched digital television in spring of 1999 in Montreal, and in Gatineau and Quebec City in the autumn.